Topic 2 – Comparison

Topic 2 – Comparison

Written Part



Topic 2 – Comparison

Marina and I live very different lives with a few similarities. Several of our similarities are that we both have cottages, siblings, rules within our community, and lost loved on specifically grandmothers. There are many differences but the main one is that she is in prison, because of this huge difference it crates a lot of other variation in the way we live our lives.

The main similarity between Marina and I is that we are always trying to be strong and not let others worry for us. For Marina it is about being strong and always saying she is going to get out of prison even thought she knows she has a life long sentence in evin. We see her not letting anyone worry for her by not telling this to even her parents so that they would never lose hope. I have this quality because no matter how bad my health is at a time you will never here me complain about it or put the worry on one of my friends.

We both have a religion but Marina’s is Christianity and mine is Judaism. However the similarity in that is that we both have explored other religions and learnt a lot about them but found our own that felt best for us individually. We both pray and have a special place where we feel closest to G-D, Marina’s is a rock near here cottage and mine is a desert in Israel where the Jews passed on there way out of Egypt.

Another similarity is that we both have Russian roots. My grandmother’s family is originally from Russia but fled and she was raised in Canada. Marina’s grandmother died and so did mine. Like Marina, my grandmother and I had a special connection. Marinas connection is really shown when her grandmother handed Marina her life story. My connection with my grandmother is with our smiles. I am told I have hers and because I visited her so often I was the last grandchild to see her before she died. Even though Marina found her grandmother dead I still find this something we share because we were both there in our grandmother’s last moments.

An additional similarity is that we both can speak two languages, however I feel as though Marina is more fluent in Russian. I can speak, write, and read Hebrew. I am bad at carrying on conversations though because it takes me a while to understand what they are saying and work everything out in my head. Meanwhile Marina is very good at Russian, you see this when she is talking to Arash’s grandmother, Irena. Marina is able to respond quickly in a conversation but she admits she is rusty at Russian. 

The last similarity I can find between us is that we have in common is that we both have cottages. When I was younger I went up there every summer, like Marina did. Also like Marina I made many friends up there some of whom I still have and talk to today. This is a similarity between us because when Marina was up there she met Gita who she remained friends with in Tehran.

The main difference I have with Marina is where she lives. It is because she lives in Iran that there was a war for her growing up that she was in prison and that she lost so many friends. Marina’s countries government had gone through an abut change after many strikes and rallies. However this government that people wanted didn’t help. Many rules were made and it stated that the enemy was America.

One of the main differences between Marina and I is punishment. We both have rules in society and certain ways we have tot dress when going places. However our punishments for breaking rules or saying no to something is really different. When she could get beating for something as simple as holding hands with a boy I would not get even a dirty glare for.

Another difference is the way we were raised. Marinas mother was always really strict with her and even though at the time I though my mother was strict I can see she wasn’t now. I was raised with financial security too which is a huge difference between me and Marina because even though she is not poor, her family doesn’t have enough money to send her to Canada where she could be safe from the revolutionary guards.

I find that the differences between Marina and I are because of her loss of rights in prison. For example I take medication by choice for my health when Marina is drugged every day so he won’t get her period, even though this drug had a lot of dangerous side effects.

Overall I can relate to Marina in many different ways but the underlining differences that keep us apart is our culture and the situations we have been put in. the differences between us help me learn about her and what she is going through and understand her whole mind set. It is what makes the book so unique because barley anyone alive has ysurvived anything like this so it is my way of understanding Marina in greater detail. I know that when Marina is out of jail I will be able to have more similarities with Marina because she moves to Canada which is the culture I have grown up in.